After Haylie Nicole Steketee and Troy Thomas Murray briefly met through a mutual friend at an event in Detroit, the pair followed each other on social media. However it wasn’t until nearly a year later, when they finally hung out one-on-one and a romantic (and completely long-distance) relationship developed.
A year later, Troy planned a romantic proposal in Joshua Tree. Haylie flew in from Michigan, and the pair drove from Los Angeles to the desert. Troy, an artist, had done an installation titled D I S T A N C E, for which he painted a portrait on stacked cinderblocks, and he reminded Haylie that they were close by. She took the bait and, of course, insisted they go see it. “Little did I know, a few days prior, he went out to recreate this piece to say, ‘Will You Marry Me?’ We drove up to the back of the piece, and as I got out of the car and walked around, he got down on one knee,” she recalls. After a magical two days in the desert, the couple flew to Michigan for a surprise engagement party with both of their families.
Haylie and Troy quickly decided they’d return to Michigan to get married and wanted an indoor-outdoor venue. Gold Leaf Event brought their summer vision to life at Shepherd’s Hollow Golf Club, Jennifer Boris was behind the lens to capture everything, and Emily Baird Design set the tone with a neutral, elegant invitation suite.
Troy’s grandmother, Marian Ilitch, is the owner of the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings, and Little Caesar’s Pizza, so it was only fitting that the couple welcome their guests and celebrate the family with a kickoff party at Comerica Park. The next night, a Little Caesar’s truck even made an appearance to supply late-night bites.
“The theme I wanted for the wedding was timeless, timeless, timeless!!!” Haylie exclaims. For the bride, solidifying the aesthetic began with finding her dream dress. After trying on several styles, she landed on a sleek Romona Keveža style with bow-adorned straps and added a dramatic Maria Farbinni overskirt. The bride styled her ceremony look with David Yurman necklaces, earrings, and a bracelet.
In lieu of the drama that comes with an outfit change midday, Haylie decided to chop nearly five inches from her hair on the morning of the wedding. “My mother is a hairstylist, and I imagined this intimate moment between the two of us sometime in-between the ceremony and the reception,” the bride explains. “When it unfortunately didn’t fit in our day of schedule, I decided to pivot and do it the morning-of! My mother and I got our moment, and since Troy and I opted out of a first look, when the church doors opened he was super surprised!”
On August 21, 2022, Gold Leaf Events and Bloom Floral Design transformed Mt Zion Church with sprawling white blooms. Haylie walked down the aisle (sporting a fresh long bob) with her grandfather to Troy and his mother, Lisa, who officiated the ceremony. “It truly felt like it was just Troy and me in that church, with my grandfather by my side,” Haylie shares. “It was so special, and I’ll remember that feeling for the rest of my life.”
“The reception was the sober party of the year!!” the bride exclaims. “We decided to do a dry wedding as my husband is 11 years sober from alcohol, and we really wanted to show our guests that we could have an amazing time without it!” Mocktails and a coffee bar kept the energy high on the dance floor.
The newlyweds shared a first dance to “Nothin’ Can Change This Love” by Sam Cooke. Then Aragon Artists’s custom deejay-hybrid ensemble curated a journey through the decades, as Troy loves ’70s funk. “The deejay did such an amazing job accommodating our request of not having a typical wedding playlist,” Haylie shares. “The guest talked about the band for weeks after!”
Once the reception came to a formal close, the new Murrays headed back to their hotel and played a favorite dice game in the courtyard with remaining guests. “It was so much fun and such a perfect way to spend some more intimate time with people who traveled in to see us,” the bride concludes.
